Awaken
by CriminallyCastle
Summary: When the team reunites after a year long break, One of their agents is found in a hospital unconscious. Hotch is the last of the team to know and Prentiss can't make sense of her own dreams, or identity for that matter.
1. Chapter 1

**Awake**

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

A/N: This takes place after the whole Doyle incident. So, Hotch and Prentiss arent together, they just have feelings that they won't admit for each other. Also Will and JJ don't have Henry yet. They're only in a relationship. Remember, reviews are love.

**Chapter One**

Jennifer Jareau stared towards the bed where her best friend slept, wishing that she would wake from her slumber. JJ wanted to tell someone something, a secret that had been burning away inside of her for the past six weeks, the only person that she wanted to tell was Emily Prentiss, and she needed to tell her first. JJ considered Emily as her sister and it was sisters that got to hear happy news first.

In the year and one week that they had not seen each other, many things had changed, JJ now realized that she didn't belong in New Orleans with Will. Even if she loved him, she had realized that it was back in Quantico where she belonged. She had found a home at the BAU, all of them had. The past year Emily had been in Italy on an assignment from Interpol, the whole team had split up and traveled. Hotch had went to Afghanistan, Morgan went to Chicago after he found that his mother was diagnosed with MS. Reid had stayed in Quanitco to teach seminars with Rossi and Garcia had traveled to Paris with Kevin. Now the whole team was back... Or almost.

She smiled at her friend, even she looked different than she had the last time JJ had seen her. She had grown out her bangs, cut off her hair and it now framed her tanned but pale face, she looked calm as she slept, her chest rising and falling every few seconds, an action that made JJ calm and believe that she would soon wake up, what had not changed was the realization of how much JJ cared for Emily and how lucky she was to have her as a friend. JJ was desperate to have 'girl talk', she had missed it so much over the past year, she needed to have her friend wake up and talk to her.

JJ watched as Emily's calm face moved into a smile, which it had done a few times in the day that JJ had been beside her. JJ wondered what she was dreaming of, wondered of what was making her smile. JJ sighed and leaned back into the uncomfortable hospital chair, her eyes closed slowly and without realizing, she fell into a listless sleep, until she heard a familiar voice.

"JJ, you okay?" said the quiet voice of Derek Morgan, as he gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh, what?" JJ replied sleepily, before jumping up from her chair, "Emily, is Emily okay?"

"She's fine, she's still asleep." Morgan replied, sitting on the edge of the chair which JJ had jumped up from, he patted her back and she sat back down, her pulse returning to normal.

"They gave me this when I came today, they meant to give it to us earlier but with all the confusion, they forgot. Morgan continued as he handed JJ a brown and dirty satchel bag, "Apparently it's hers. She packed it for her assignment and she forgot it in Italy. They realized it was hers and sent it back here, it's apparently everything that she would need."

JJ took the satchel from her friend and placed it on her own lap, "Do you think I should look inside?" she questioned quietly.

Morgan smiled and looked towards Emily, "I don't think she is going to notice," he said with a small laugh, "and besides we ALL know that if you don't, then I will. Plus you are a very curious woman and I am sure that you are dying of curiosity to know what is in that bag."

JJ smiled sadly before nodding, Morgan did indeed know her too well, almost as well as she knew herself. She reached into the satchel, her hand searching for something that she didn't know she was looking for, eventually her hand hit something hard and She pulled it out. It was Emily's diary, more worn than JJ had ever seen a diary of Emily's, but as she turned the pages, the inside was neat as always.

With curiosity in her mind, JJ flipped the pages until she was at today's week and she was surprised by what she found. Written delicately in the familiar handwriting she knew so well, was at 11am Emily had written 'Meet Hotch.' She turned her head to look at Morgan, who had closed his eyes and was humming a tune to himself, one that She didn't recognize.

"Morgan, we've got a problem." She said softly, before pointing down at the diary appointment.

"We do?" The agent questioned, as he opened his eyes and began to read, "Oh," he replied before agreeing with the blonde, "I guess we do."

JJ looked up at the clock opposite her still sleeping friend, it was already 9:50am, she didn't like her chances of Emily making her appointment.

"Do we know where they were to meet?" Morgan questioned, as he tried to think carefully of possible places. He exhaled softly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It doesn't say here." JJ replied, the only other words on that week were also on today's date. 'Arrive home.' was pencilled in for 9am. JJ smiled a wistful smile, Emily was already home, she'd arrived two days ago, one before JJ arrived home. As soon as they had landed JJ's phone had been clogged with messages from The hospital, telling her that Emily was in the hospital in Washington. JJ had come straight from the airport to see her friend, and had hardly left her side in the twenty something hours since. Suddenly JJ was worried, did Hotch know that Emily had been injured, did he even know that she was in the hospital? She sighed once more, "It could be anywhere," she eventually replied, "And who knows if he's even been told that Emily is already back."

Morgan patted JJ on the back once more as she continued, "There are so many places, the bar, Founding Fathers, the Bullpen, the airport, either one of their apartments and we don't have time to check them all, it will take too long and we could miss seeing him." JJ finished worriedly.

"It'll be okay JJ, we will find him." Morgan replied, seeing the tension and worry crease across his friend's forehead, he stood up from the chair and leant down and spoke softly to her forehead before pressing a kiss there. "I'll call Garcia, see if she knows when Hotch lands, you keep reading the diary, there could be anything in there, a clue perhaps." And with that final sentence Morgan left the room, leaving JJ with questions that still only one person could answer.

A/N: So Emily is in the hospital and we don't know how she got there and her friends can't work out where Hotch is going to be, if you'd like to read more, please leave a review.

**-CriminallyCastle**


	2. Chapter 2

**Awaken **

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed or put this story on alert for the first chapter.  
Please let me know what you think.  
**  
Chapter Two.**

Morgan sighed as he left JJ alone with the still sleeping Prentiss, for all that She had been through in the past few days Morgan was pleased to see how well she looked, even if at the moment she didn't look wonderful. Both he and JJ had been shocked when they had received Rossi's messages, the two of them had expected Emily to be home the week before them that was after all what she had said in the last email JJ had received a month earlier. Her case in Italy was planned for a year exactly, however she had been there for almost an extra week and in that time, had managed to get herself into a life or death situation.

He glanced down at his watch, both he and JJ had an hour to discover where Hotch and Prentiss had arranged to meet, only an hour to discover secrets between two very close friends, now he was getting worried, they certainly didn't have enough time. Morgan pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number of their boss's friend, he answered quickly.

"Morgan, is Prentiss okay?" Rossi said answering her phone as he sat in his office back at the bullpen.

"Hey, man, She's fine, no change since this morning. She's sleeping peacefully at the moment, they've kept her on the same amount of meds since we've been here. Jayje is still with her." Morgan replied in a calm voice, which was met by a deep sigh of relief from the other man. "We do have a small problem though."

"We do?" Rossi questioned, immediately worried once more.

"Has anyone told Hotch?"

"No I don't think so." the agent sighed, "I didn't feel that it was something I could write in an email and he didn't answer his satellite phone. Is that the problem?" He asked, hoping that Hotch wouldn't magically appear at his door, furious that he hadn't been told of his agent's condition earlier. They all had a small suspicion that their unit chief had feelings for Emily Prentiss. Something had always been there.

"Sort of." Morgan replied.

"Morgan, you are being unnaturally short in your answers, what has happened?"

"Jayje has read Prentiss's diary, she was to meet Hotch somewhere in approximately fifty five minutes, but we don't know where."

"Oh," Rossi answered, "I suppose that is a problem."

"Exactly." Morgan answered, "You don't have any idea when Hotch was getting back, do you?" he questioned hopefully.

"No, I don't. I thought he was coming back a few days ago, a week ago even. But I ran into Booth last week and he said Hotch asked to stay a few days longer and that they'd agreed."

"Wait, Jayje said that Prentiss was meant to be back before her, and she'd originally thought it was last week too."

"So they must have had some contact with each other then," Morgan replied, his mind calculating once more, "Each of them extended their trip by a week, or in Prentiss's case, less than a week, but that was circumstance."

"I see." Rossi replied deep in thought, he wondered how much Booth knew about Hotch's return and how much he would be able to tell him.

JJ remained sitting as she continued to leaf through Emily's diary, there was a limited amount of information contained in the pages. Occasionally there was a note about a place, or notes about Her case. Then so often there was a notation about a particular behaviour of someone around her or something that someone had said. JJ sighed and was about to give up when she caught sight of a folded piece of paper tucked into one of the pages. It was a letter, written a few weeks ago. JJ reached for the piece of paper and unfolded it slowly, she smiled recognizing the familiar scrawl and began to read.

_Dear Emily,_

I know that it has been awhile since we spoke over the phone and I am sorry, but things have been difficult here. We lost another man yesterday, he was one of mine, I'd been training him and he had real promise. He would have been a great soldier, he could shoot almost as accurately as me once I had finished with him.

Em, he had a family, he had a baby boy he'd never seen, and it made me begin to think what I was doing here, why I'd ever come back. Why I've lasted almost a year here. I have Jack and he means the world to me and I can't wait to see him, I don't want to miss out on anymore of his life, I have a chance to see him grow up, grow up even more than he already has.

But I am writing to say that I am going to stay another week, I want to be here when they send Parker home, I feel I need to say goodbye to him here and goodbye to everyone else over here, I made a decision last night, I won't be coming back here again. I've realized that I don't belong here any longer, this feels like it is a part of my old life. I belong back in Quantico, I miss everyone, I miss the BAU, I miss the diner and Hell, I even miss Reid and his constant spouting of facts .

I hope you get this in time before you leave Interpol, and I hope you understand why I am staying. Can we put back our meeting by a week? One year and one week we meet? Both of us back in Washington, back where I believe I belong.

See you soon Prentiss, I'm not being a hero I promise.

- Hotch  
  
JJ dropped the letter to the floor and the diary followed, she felt guilty for reading such private correspondence, if either Emily or Hotch ever found out about her reading the letter neither of them would be impressed. JJ bent down and retrieved the letter and the diary, refolding the letter and tucking it back into the same place as it had been before. It was then that she noticed the writing in the week prior to this one, at the same time as today's appointment it read 'Meet Hotch, reflecting pool, mall, coffee cart.' JJ's head shot up, she had found where they were to meet, the only thing now was to decide who went to tell Hotch about Emily.

_  
**Two weeks prior.**

She blinked awake, feeling a lumpy, and damp mattress underneath her. Her head was killing her, and she realized she wasn't where she should be. She groaned and tried to push herself up off of the cold ground, her aching body protesting. She tried to press off from the cold concrete floor, but she felt something in her wrist snap. She collapsed once more onto the mattress and moaned.

She was in a dark room, no light coming out through a door-if there was a door. She gasped in pain as she felt around her body. The last thing she remembered was she and Clyde Easter were searching for their Unsub In the dark woods at night. Then there was nothing.

She crinkled her nose at the moldy mildew smell of the room and looked up as a bright light flooded in from a door. She squinted and saw the outline of two strong men walk in. She swallowed and tried to sit up again, holding her snapped wrist to her stomach.

"Ooh, our little agent from Interpol is awake." One man snickered as he walked close to her. He grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her up to her feet. The other man chuckled darkly and grinned as he eyed the agent over.

"She's a pretty one, Eh? Tres belle." The man's heavy French accent was mixed with a slight wheeze. She whimpered at the pain she felt in her shoulder.

The other man laughed deep in his throat. "She'll sell nicely. People like pretty." He looked down at her and grinned widely as he reached up to stroke her cheek. The woman tried to pull away but the other man held her tightly.

The first man's hand traveled down to her chest, unbuttoning the first set of buttons on her shirt and then sliding his hand underneath the fabric, pulling it off her body. He caressed her breasts and eyed them in the purple laced bra. "Oh, she's perfect." His eyes traveled down to the scar just below the bra line and his eyebrows narrowed curiously at the pink scar. "And what do we have here?"

The woman flinched as the man stroked his finger across the old scar. She chewed her lip, tasting the metallic taste of blood as she reopened her split lip wound. With all the energy she had in her, she pushed against the man, making him slam into the other man. She shook her hand out from his grasp and ran, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her out the door.

The pounding in her head was now ringing through her ears. She looked around her surroundings and winced when her bare feet crunched over pine cones, rocks and roots as she ran into the shelter of the forest. She quickly looked herself over, making sure she still had her bra and pants before continuing to run.

_  
**Present  
**  
"Booth couldn't tell me when or where Hotch was landing, I'm sorry Morgan." The disappointment shone through Rossi's usually calm voice, as soon as Morgan answered his phone call, "There was something in there about national security as well," He continued.

"Typical." Morgan answered as he rolled his eyes, "I guess it is still up to us then."

"I guess so." Rossi replied before sighing, if only Hotch had answered his satellite phone.

"I'd better get back to Jayje," Morgan said flatly, as he began to stand, before he noticed JJ running towards him with a wide smile on her face, a smile that showed him that she had discovered something useful, "Wait, man," he said into the phone, "She's here, I think she's found something, I'm going to put you on speaker."

"I know where he is going to be," JJ said excitedly as she reached the tired and slumped figure of Derek Morgan. He sat back down as she neared him, "The reflecting pool at the mall," she finished triumphantly.

"Good work, Jayje." Rossi praised through the phone, his voice slightly less disappointed.

"Very clever." Morgan whispered as he looked back to the hospital room.

JJ smiled, a half smile, she still didn't know who would be the one to tell Hotch about his hospitalised agent.  
She hadn't woken up in days and they weren't sure if she'd be okay. An assortment of rainbow bruises decorated her body. Something had happened out in Italy and they had to find out what.

"I guess we need to decide who goes to the reflecting pool?" Rossi said flatly, breaking the small silence that had descended between his friends on the phone and himself.

JJ sat down next to Morgan before she spoke quietly, "I think I'd like to go."

"You would?" Morgan questioned. Emily's best friend wanted to leave her? She had barely left the room since they had arrived, even a toilet stop was completed in the shortest amount of time, Morgan had never seen her exit a bathroom as fast as she had over the past few days.

"I don't want to leave Emily, but I feel that I want to be the one who tells Hotch, I don't know why exactly, but I just feel obligated to do so." JJ stated quietly before staring up to look at Morgan, he returned her stare, before smiling at her slightly.

"You're sure you want to go?" Morgan questioned, as he hung up.

"Yes Derek, I am positive." JJ reassured him, as she slipped her hand into his. "If Will had been injured I'd want Emily to tell me. I'm just returning the favor," she said calmly as they reached Emily's room.

Morgan smiled as he retrieved JJ's gobag from the ground, placing Emily's satchel and diary on the small table next to her bed, before sitting down on the chair that JJ had made her own. "I understand," he told her as he handed the bag to The blonde agent standing before him. "I'll be here while you are gone, and Rossi and the rest of the team will be here soon."

"I know, thanks." JJ replied before hugging Derek lightly.

Morgan nodded and hugged his wife close, hugging her back. "Go on then." He said encouragingly, "You don't want him to think she isn't coming."

"I'm going." JJ replied as she untangled herself from both Morgan and the chair, she smiled a small smile before she turned to look at her friend, taking her hand once again and leaning close to her, "Em, I'm going to meet Hotch, something you were meant to do, he's going to want to talk to you, so you'd better wake up soon."

"Good luck Jayje," Morgan said, as he took hold of the hand that wasn't holding Emily's, and giving it a small squeeze.

"I'll be fine. I know where to go. I know who I am going to see and I know what to tell him." JJ replied, as she let go of both Morgan and Emily and began to leave the room, "It will be fine," she added as she stepped into the corridor. "I'll see you both soon."

"See you soon." Morgan called after her, watching her leave, he sighed to himself as he picked up one of the magazines that he had brought for the plane ride home and began to read, he certainly didn't envy the task JJ was about to endure, to tell Hotch that Emily was currently still unconscious, bruised and battered, and that he was the last to know.

_

Aaron Hotchner sighed as he stepped off the army plane and down onto the Washington ground that he had missed so much. The tarmac was quiet, except for the technicians who were already at work on the plane, readying it for its return back to Afghanistan. His bag swung gently on his shoulder as he headed for the lobby, where he could hear the excited screams of wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, mothers and fathers of the soldiers he had travelled back with. He knew that there would be no-one waiting for him here. He had expressly told Jessica not to bring Jack to meet him here and that he would call her when he was on his way to see her and his son.

He moved quickly through the lobby, trying to ignore the sounds of love and laughter that had filled the room. There was one wife and son that weren't here to welcome a solider home. Parker's wife, Kate, and his son weren't here, they hadn't been able to welcome a person home, it had been a body they had waited for. Parker would have arrived home yesterday; his body had left the base a few days before Hotch did, seven days longer than the year Hotch had planned to stay. He stood at the doorway to the lobby watching the scenes all around him as he waited for the car that he knew had been arranged to take him back into the city.

He watched as one of the other sergeants' picked up a small girl in a blue dress and swung her around in the air, the sound of her happy laughter filled the room, her daddy was back and she was thrilled. He smiled despite his sadness and began to think, he had gone to Afghanistan to train soldiers not to die, they'd thought that his FBI experience would help defeat the insurgents that had begun to creep increasingly closer to base, however, Parker had still died and others would continue to. War was war, Hotch should have known that, he had after all been there before, why had he thought that this would be any different, they were always going to lose people. It wasn't what his son had said, that if he went to Afghanistan he was going to be able to save people instead of being here where he was solving what happened to already dead people and stopping the unsubs before they killed again. Hotch had been taken in by that too, taken in by the spiel, he'd been tricked by it too.

He looked up as a car stopped in front of him and the window rolled down, "Hotchner?" the driver questioned, he nodded and climbed into the back of the car, ready for his trip back into the city. He sunk into the backseat of the car as the view outside the window changed, Parker had been the most skilled he had seen in a long time and even with Hotch's training, he had still died. Hotch had made a decision the night after Parker had died, a decision that had been weighing on his mind for the last six months of his deployment, he wasn't going back to Afghanistan again, he had served his country and for the most part, he had done it well, even the army was sure of that last point, it didn't matter if they had tried to convince him to come back again, he wasn't going to. That part of his life was over, it was here where he belonged.

The car slowed and Hotch realized that they had arrived at the mall, he thanked the driver and climbed out of the car, his bag once more on his shoulder. He wandered further into the mall and found a seat near the coffee cart and the reflecting pool where he sat down, dropping his bag to the ground. He stared out into the scene around him, relishing the calm sounds of Washington. He stared down towards his watch and looked at the time, it was 10:55 am. He then allowed himself to think of the woman that he had come here to meet. Emily Prentiss. He hoped that she had coped well in Italy. He had missed her, he had missed her honesty, missed the way she was able to comfort him, missed that she was the one person who never lied to him, never tried to water down the truth. Everyone seemed to lie in war. They lied that things were going to get better on base, that they were making a difference.

Hotch had felt Emily begin to pull away from the friendship that they had created shortly after her return.

She had admitted a weakness to him about herself, that she had nightmares. Nightmares of Ian Doyle coming back for her team. He forcing her to watch as they were shot and bled out. She told him that she hadn't been able to rescue any of them, and even if she hadn't admitted it fully, he believed that she was being injured in these dreams too.

He had felt her pull away emotionally at the same time, that her personal relationships with the team at the BAU had clouded her ability to think rationally. She was invested in the lives of others, their hopes, dreams, loves, safety and that had affected the science, her ability to be what she had been before the two of them met. Hotch shook his head, this wasn't the time to think about the failings, it was time to look forward to seeing his friend, his closest friend. He would make her his.

He could still see her face as she left him standing on the pavement, the night they first met. The night he began to work for her mother. He remembered her face turning back to look at him through the back window of a cab, twice, the cab had driven her off into the night and he had been left behind.

She had left him in the rain, rejected him even, after both of them consuming far too much tequila for both of their own goods, then there had been a fight between the two of them and she hadn't talked to him for a year until it was too late. He was pulled into the FBI. Her mother-Ambassador Prentiss had recommended him to the bureau in order to get him away from her daughter. She was only nineteen, he, being 24. To this day he still remembered the feeling of her soft lips against his.

He stared back down towards his watch and realized that it was just after 11, she was late, a very un-Prentiss like characteristic.

He'd only hoped that she would be here soon, that she would still be meeting him and that she still wanted to meet him. His last letter had received no response and he hoped that she hadn't been here last week and he had not shown up. Hotch hoped that she was coming back to him and maybe if he was honest that she had missed him as much as he had missed her.

A/N: Voila, chapter two. Please let me know what you think. Emily will wake up soon. I promise.

-CriminallyCastle


	3. Chapter 3

**Awaken.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.  
**

**A/N: So one of my reviewers found a slight/major mistake in last chapter... By accident I was distracted while writing and I typed that JJ and Morgan were married by accident. Uhm, so that is not true. Just FYI. Please ignore that mistake. Thanks!**  
**  
Chapter Three**

JJ sighed as she pulled into a vacant car space, the clock had just flashed to 11 and she knew that she was now late, something that Emily never was. The traffic between the hospital and the mall had been busy, it had taken her twenty minutes to drive one and a half blocks, a quarter of the journey, but she was finally here now. She climbed from the car and headed towards where she believed Hotch would be, the mall was busy, people seemed to be crowding every space available and suddenly JJ felt nervous, she began to twist the charm on her necklace around her finger. Suddenly the crowd parted and there he was, alone sitting next to the coffee cart, still in his army uniform. JJ smiled as she remembered the last time she had seen him, he had surprised Emily at the airport and the two of them had shared a private goodbye. She sighed once more before she thought about the two agents. The whole team had made a bet on when they would get together, her included. She took a deep breath and walked over towards Hotch, a smile plastered on her face.

He couldn't deny that he wasn't a little worried, each minute after 11 seemed to tick by ever so slowly, he kept staring out into the distance, searching for the familiar figure of his agent but she had yet to arrive, it wasn't until he saw another familiar woman walking towards him, that his worry began to grow. JJ was walking towards him and by the fake looking smile she was trying to fool him with, his worry was justified, there was something wrong. He stood and waved to her slowly, she had seen him and suddenly Hotch felt nervous, where was Prentiss?

JJ kept smiling as she noticed that Hotch had realised it was her, she noticed his small wave and soon enough she was standing in front of him.

"Hotch." She said with a smile as she reached out to hug him.

"Jayje." Hotch replied, as he took hold of her arms and the two of them hugged.

Soon enough the hug was over and they were left staring at the other, each of them waiting for the other to speak, it was JJ who broke first.

"Hotch," she said calmly, even surprising herself with the depth of calm her voice was able to portray, "I think you should sit down."

Instantly he was worried, JJ thought she was being calm, but he could hear the worry in her voice, he sat down before he fell down, worried about what She was going to say, worried that Prentiss wasn't here and wondered how JJ even knew that he was going to be here. He watched as The blonde sat down beside him and stared at him, he noticed how she took a deep breath and he couldn't wait to know what was going on any longer. "Jayje," he asked staring back at her, "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but what are you doing here? Where's Prentiss?"

JJ took another deep breath, before she began to tell Hotch what had happened to their shared friend, "Em is going to be okay," she stated and she noticed Hotch let out a small breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding, "But she is in hospital."

"Hospital?" Hotch repeated, as his fists clenched automatically, if someone had hurt her then he would hurt them.

JJ nodded slowly, "Three days ago, Emily came back to the States. Transported straight to the hospital. No one knows what happened here. Interpol says its classified."

"Damnit. So they won't tell us anything? We don't know what happened? Just that she was hurt and is now back in the US of A?" Hotch shook his head, anger coursing through his body.

JJ nodded and placed her hand on his. "They only said that something happened. They were working on a case and then Em went missing for a few days, and they found her lying on the side of the road, near death. She has been in a coma since." JJ managed to say before her voice gave away to her emotions and a tear escaped the corner of her eye, followed by a flood of tears running down her cheeks.

"Prentiss in a coma?" Hotch repeated once more, seemingly unable to form sentences of his own, taking comfort in being able to repeat what JJ was telling him, he reached out to touch her on her arm, giving her some comfort. He had been waiting for Prentiss, but she wasn't coming to meet him, she had been injured and he hadn't known, he hadn't been with her, instantly he felt guilty, he'd always been there to protect her from anything, this time he hadn't been. "Jayje," he said, "Where is she?" he asked, waiting for an answer, wherever she was, he needed to be with her.

"Preston Hospital." JJ stated, as her tears slowed and she wiped at her face with her hands, her worry still showing through with a shaky voice.

"Prentiss is back in Virginia?"

"Apparently before she left for Interpol, she organized an emergency care plan should anything happen to any of the members on the assignment. There was a plane on standby and medical care had been arranged to take place here. I think she arranged it all for others, not realizing that it was her that was going to need it." JJ explained, as her tears began to disappear completely, pulling herself back together.

Hotch smiled despite his worry, it was just like Emily to be so organized, he knew that she would have taken care of the people she had been assigned to work with and for her sake he was glad she had. "Wait, Prentiss was still in Italy three days ago? I thought she was coming home a week ago."

"That's what we thought too, but she was meant to come home today like you did."

Hotch was still confused, had Emily changed her plans because of him? he stood up, Emily was here, here at the hospital, only a few miles from where he now sat with JJ, "I need to see her." He needed to see her now, as much as he was glad to see JJ, Prentiss was injured, he needed to see her as soon as he could, he needed to be with her. He would never admit it, but he was falling in love with Emily Prentiss.

JJ stood next to Hotch, she knew that he was going to say that sometime and that was why she hadn't put her car keys into her bag, "I'll take you to her."

"Thanks, Jayje." Hotch replied as he bent down and picked up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder once again and following her out.

-

Hotch walked into the room, seeing her motionless. She looked nothing like her usual self. Her hair had been dyed a ginger color. He frowned, letting his eyes roam her body. Starting at her head, seeing the badly dyed hair, the bruises on her forehead, her pale cheeks, she looked sick. Almost.. Deathly. Hotch closed his eyes, trying to gain his composure. Trying to stay strong. He had to be for her. For Emily. Even though they weren't together, he cared about her. He loved her.

Hotch pulled over the chair that was occupied by David Rossi before, and sat in it, watching the steady fall of Emily's chest. She had a mask on, and a tube down her throat, helping her to breathe. Hotch reached out and grabbed her hand in his, her skin was cold at touch as he held back tears. He gave it a gentle squeeze and leaned forward to brush his thumb pad against her forehead, swiping at a thin strand of ginger hair across her face. "God, Em. What happened to you?" He shook his head, sighing as he finished his examination of her. Her arms were marred with an assortment of bruises and cuts. A sob caught in his throat as he brought her hand up to his lips gently. "Em, I promise you. I will find who did this to you and will kill them myself if I have to."

He continued to stare at the woman before him, his eyelids growing heavy with sleep as he chewed the inside of his lip. He straightened up when he heard movement from behind him and Rossi walked in, placing a hand on his shoulder as support. "Welcome back." He nodded and a sad, small smile slipped across his lips as he greeted his old friend. "She's been like this for three days now."

He let out a small sigh and without taking his eyes off his agent's face, swallowed and spoke softly. "And nobody knows what happened to her? When she's gonna wake up, if-" he couldn't being himself to say it. His thoughts were screaming at him. 'If she's gonna'

Rossi tensed and ran his eyes across Emily's face. She was smiling in her deep sleep. JJ had told him that she had been doing it quite a few times, he watched as she unconsciously bit her cracked lip. She was almost like a daughter to him. Rossi turned to Hotch and took a deep breath. "Nobody knows yet, not until she wakes up, we won't know." Hotch nodded and gave her hand another gentle and loving squeeze.

-

Her dreams were always the same. She would be standing on a sandy white beach, just looking out into the horizon, a dead body laying down in the sand as the team worked over it. She turned back to the crime scene, staring at the redhead who lay dead. She would never see her parents or friends again. Emily lifted her head in sadness of the victim, and found herself gazing into the dark eyes of Aaron Hotchner, whom gazed back.

She ran her hand through her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail, watching his face as a smile became evident on his face. She returned the smile and nodded, just watching him.  
A warm bubbly feeling rose in her stomach and then the dream shifted to another location. She was inside his apartment, standing outside the room and she was watching. Staring as George Foyet plunged the knife into his stomach. All nine times. He was yelling at her to get away. To get out and run away before Foyet noticed her there too, but her feet wouldn't move. She watched, tears pouring down her eyes as he closed his eyes and lay motionless. He was dead. She jumped back as Foyet lurched forward for her. Knife at the ready.

Hotch looked up as she frowned and blinked a few times, slowly awakening. He placed his hand on her cheek, cupping it lightly as she stared into his dark eyes. He was so familiar but there was no name. Nothing. Only his face and voice were there. "Prentiss? Emily. Oh god." She blinked once more and slowly maneuvered her aching body to a sitting up position. She swallowed and immediately felt a burning sensation in her throat.

"What happened?" She looked around the white room as a bunch of nurses flooded in, Hotch took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

"Nobody knows. I'm so sorry. God, Em."

He watched her bite her lip, confusion becoming clear on her thin face as she tried to compartmentalize. None of it made sense. "Where am I?" Her throat felt like it was on fire and a nurse handed her a cup of water.

"Honey, you're in a hospital."  
She gulped it down, making her lungs burn as well. Damn nurse.

She looked up at Hotch and frowned as she realized he was holding her hand. "Who are you?"

Before he could answer, a small voice came from the entrance of the room. She blinked as a small boy ran in and jumped onto the man's lap and stared at her curiously.

Hotch frowned and looked from his boy to the woman. "Prentiss, it's me. Hotch... Your unit chief." the nurse named Angela, patted his hand and watched him with crystal blue eyes as she motioned for him to follow her out.

"She doesn't remember. She took a bad hit to the head. She should be able to remember soon, but as of right now, she just needs time and someone to take care of her. Ms. Prentiss-"

Hotch coughed and shook his head as Jack ran off to play with Morgan. "It's Agent Prentiss." He watched as the nurse smiled a small apologetic smile and nodded.

"My apologies, sir. Agent Prentiss can't be rushed to remember anything and I think it's best if you tell her the truth about everything. Don't hold back on any information. That'll just confuse her even more. Good luck, agent Hotchner." She turned to walk down the hall as Hotch walked back into the small room, watching his now, ginger agent. She definitely didn't look like her self. She was small, broken and clueless laying in the bed. As he looked into her face, he could tell that she was scared. The way she hugged the blankets to her chin, the way her arms crossed over her chest. Hotch felt his heart break as he stared down at his agent. So broken and hurt. Who could have done this?

A/N: And there's chapter three. Really sorry it took forever for me to write. Haven't had time or motivation really. Please leave a review?

The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update.

-CriminallyCastle


	4. Chapter 4

**Awaken **

**A/N: Thank you all to those of you who have been adding this story to story alerts and reviewing. It means so much! **

**Chapter four.**

Emily stared up at the male. He was tall, handsome and looked exactly like the man in her dreams. She picked at her nails and tried to remember anything. She swallowed and tilted her head slightly as he brushed back a strand of hair from her face.

"Emily, you really don't remember?" He let out a sigh as she shook her head.

"No... So my name is Emily Prentiss?" She looked down at her arm, seeing that it was in a cast. She sighed and chewed her lip as she tried to make sense of everything. She watched him nod and studied his features. He was quite attractive, and she could see worry in his eyes.

"Yeah. Your name is Emily Prentiss. You're an FBI agent in Quantico Virginia. Anything sound familiar?" He watched her pick her nails as she slowly shook her head. He released a breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding and sighed. She didn't remember. She didn't remember him. He had seen it in her face. No sign of recognition.

"So, I'm an agent... Why doesn't anyone know what happened to me?" She stared into his eyes, the sudden eye contact unnerving him. She ran her hand that wasn't in the cast through her now red locks and sighed. "I don't even know who I am." her voice was soft, just above a whisper. Hotch had to lean in just to hear her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and met her eyes.

"Hey, It'll be alright. I'll help you remember." She took his hand as he offered it to her and tilted her head, thanking him silently with a tiny hand squeeze. This man whom she barely knew was so kind to her.

After a few moments sleep over took her again, she fell asleep with him watching over her, making sure she would wake up again. JJ walked in and placed a hand on his shoulder, watching the steady rise and fall of her friend's chest as she laid on the bed. "How's she doing?" Hotch turned at the sudden voice and nodded a greeting.

"She doesn't remember anything. God, she looks so different." He shook his head and inhaled deeply, suddenly coming up with an idea. "I think I have an idea... Jayje, can you do me a huge favor?"

The blonde looked down at him and nodded, open to anything that would help her friend. "Sure, Hotch. Anything."

He told her his plan and she left to fulfill his tasks.

A half an hour later, JJ walked into the room to find Emily awake again with Hotch sitting next to her. She watched as he talked softly to her. She had only ever heard this tone of voice one other time. And that was with his son. She coughed softly to let them know of her appearance and they both turned to look at her. Emily's eyes were on the bag she held in her hand and JJ watched as she tilted her head. Hotch looked up at JJ and nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Thanks, Jayje." The blonde walked over and gave him the paperbag. Hitch peered inside and pulled out a few bags of M&M's. He placed the rest of the contents on the bed next to Emily.

He handed her the M&M'S and she ripped them open immediately. "Hotch?" She eyed him, wanting an explanation as she glanced over at the res of the items. Dark brown hair dye, a black shirt, black slacks, and pictures. She stated at the pictures, recognizing herself, him and a few others whom she thought to be the team that he talked about. One picture held the little boy in it as he sat in between Hotch and herself. She smiled and couldn't take her eyes off the image as she popped a colored candy in her mouth.

Hotch sighed softly as she brought a blue one to her mouth. Years ago when he had found her at the park one night, she had been eating a pack of M&Ms and chucked all of the colored ones other than the brown ones. She had explained to him that they were her favorite and that her father had told her when she was a little girl that all of the brown ones had less artificial coloring because chocolate was already brown. Emily looked up at him as she caught him studying her. "What?"

He shook his head, the frown disappearing from his lips as he watched her. "Nothing. Just memories." He stared at the brown candies mixed in with the colored ones in her hand and nodded. Did she really not remember? He watched as she sat up more and helped her out of the bed as she grabbed the box of hair dye from the table.

"Well, Come help me look normal again." She smirked and nodded as he took her hand and helped her to the bathroom. He picked up the pair of clothes and brought it into the small room as he helped her undress herself. She looked at him, covering herself as he looked away from her body to give her some privacy. She stepped into the warm spray, leaving her arm with the cast on it out.

Hotch turned back to her to hand her a plastic bag for the cast. He gasped when his eyes fell over the bruises and abrasions that mauled and mottled her once perfect porcelain skin. He dropped the box of dye onto the ground and stared at her stomach, and her legs. All of the bruises had been hidden by the hospital gown before, but now she was bare and had nothing to cover herself with but her hands. He finally managed to tear his eyes away from her body and looked up to her face. She refused to meet his eyes and instead bent to pick up the dye, obviously uncomfortable. "I'll Uhm.. Call you if I need help.. Thanks." She nodded and watched him walk out of the bathroom silently. Emily sighed and began washing her hair, struggling slightly with one hand.

Hotch sighed as he walked out of the warm bathroom and into the cool air of the hospital room. He looked over to his right to see JJ staring up at him intently from her magazine. "Hotch? What happened?" She stood up, dragging her seat over to his as he slumped down in it. She bit her lip and eyed him.

"Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes she seems like she remembers and then she doesn't." He shook his head and looked down at his hands.

JJ tilted her head, rolling her eyes slightly. "No... There's something else.. Now spill."

Hotch sighed and rubbed his temple. "I think I love her, Jayje... Seeing her so broken, so hurt and clueless-" he shook his head and closed his eyes as he licked his lips. "I just can't do it. It kills me to see her like that. Especially after everything that's happened in the last two years, the whole Doyle thing, and then her father coming back into her life?" He tilted his head and eyed JJ. "Would you want to remember that?"

The blonde sighed and placed a hand on his knee. "Honestly? I don't think i would want to remember. But It'll be alright, I'll take her out for a spa day or something when she can move by herself again. Maybe that could help her move passed that".

Hotch looked up and nodded as they sat in silence. Alas, there was a soft call for help from Emily and Hotch let JJ attend to her friend, leaving him to organize his thoughts.

**A/N: Thank you again for reading. I'm going to try to update once a week. I've just been so busy with finals coming up. I'm trying to get all the sleep I can, and as soon as I get home from class, I am knocked out for a good five hours. Anyways, Spa day with JJ and Emily coming up soon. Please stay tuned and leave a review.**

**-CriminallyCastle**


	5. Chapter 5

**Awaken ******

_**A/N: I know, I know. I'm so bad. I haven't updated in weeks. But can you blame me? I'm studying my ass off for finals and everything is just so crazy in my life right now.**_

Thank you all to those of you who have been adding this story to story alerts and reviewing. It means so much.  
**  
****Chapter five.**

_One day later._  
Emily stood up in bed, her freshly dyed hair sprawled down her back and shoulders. She chewed her lip and slowly looked up at the blonde woman sitting in the chair next to her bed. Hotch and JJ had managed to get her discharged from the hospital, and Hotch had volunteered to take her back to his house. Garcia had gotten Emily's Interpol team to release details on the case, with help from Hotch and Morgan, the three agents threatened Interpol to include the crime scene photos from the case. Hotch was seated in his apartment with the rest of the team around his table, the files sprawled across the mahogany wood.

"So, you want to take me where?" Emily frowned and ran a hand through her hair. So far, she hadn't remembered anything, but she did know that she didn't care for spa days.

JJ chuckled and shook her head. "No, we're going to the salon, now go get dressed." She took her arm and dragged her friend's still sore body over to the armoire. She picked out clothes and handed them to her. "I'll be waiting outside in the hall. You better come out in five minutes, if not, well, I'll come and get you and drag you myself." She eyed the brunette and then walked out of the room.

Emily sighed and slowly pushed herself to get dressed. In less than four minutes, the two women were walking to the car parked outside. JJ smiled as they drove to the spa. A whole day with just the two of them. No one else and nothing to stop them. They drove in silence and parked right outside the salon. JJ placed her sunglasses on top of her head and climbed out, waiting for Emily. The brunette imitated JJ and followed her inside. "Ugh, Jayje, why do we have to go in here?"

JJ chuckled and nudged Emily. "Relax, it'll be fun, Em. Now walk."

Emily groaned and shook her head, rubbing her temple. "Oh, this is going to suck." she ran her hand through her hair and instantly, they were greeted by a slightly heavy blonde woman.

"Hello! I'm Paulette and welcome to the hair affair." She grinned and took a step to the two agents. She eyed Emily and smiled friendly. "Awh, Sweetie, relax! You're in good hands here. I'm like Allstate. Except for hair! Now, how may I help you?"

JJ smiled and nudged Emily forward as they introduced themselves. "I'm Jayje, and this here is Emily Prentiss." They shook hands and followed the peppy blonde to the back room.

"I know just the thing for you both." She grinned and nodded, motioning them towards two mud baths. "You two sound like you can do with some relaxation and bliss. I have some music for you to listen to as well. It's called Celtic moods!" Paulette pressed play on the CD player and then left the two agents.

Emily hesitated before stripping down and submerging herself in the mud. "Jayje, are you sure about this?"

JJ sighed and looked at her. "Em, relax, its fine. Now shush!" she leaned back in the tub and sipped her cucumber water. "Drink your water and relax." The blonde closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure.

"But it's got cucumber in it! I don't know if I even like-" Emily was cut off as JJ's eyes opened and a handful of mud was flung at her. "Did you just throw Mud at me?"

JJ groaned and frowned. "Yes, now shush!" She eyed her friend and slowly the two of them fell into bliss.

Hotch, Reid and Morgan examined the photos over and over again, trying to find anything. The smallest detail would do. So far, all they found out was that Emily's Interpol team had been working a case in Southern Italy that had to deal with human trafficking. Other than that, they had nothing. It wasn't easy getting the details on the case in the first place, and now they seemed to be at a dead end.

Hotch shook his head as he slammed his fist down on the table. "Damnit! We need to find out who did this!" He stood up from the table and stalked off to his bathroom. He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed.

A few hours later, Emily was finally relaxing, while JJ and her new friend, Paulette were chatting noisily. Emily groaned and opened her eyes, glaring at JJ. "Do you two mind? I'm trying to relax." She grumbled and shook her head as they continued to talk.

Finally, she took a hand full of mud and was about to throw it at JJ, as she did to her earlier. "No-" the blonde was cut off when a fistful of mud hit her in the neck. "Emily!"

Emily grinned and pulled another handful. "Shush!" She took a sip of the cucumber water and closed her eyes, only to open them again when mud splattered across her face. She looked at JJ and retaliated, continuing the mud fight. "Jayje! You wanted me to relax! I finally was and you ruined that." She huffed and licked her lip as she eyed the laughing blonde.

"Aw come on, Em. It's fun." JJ grinned and then stretched, the two of them getting out of the mud tubs.

Soon enough, the two agents were back in the car, fully dressed, their nails done and manicured, as well as their hair cut and styled. Emily gasped and turned to JJ when she realized that they had just drove passed the road to get back to the temporary hotel. "Jayje?" The blonde ignored her and instead replied with a small grin

Many minutes later, they pulled into the mall. Emily eyed JJ and shook her head. "No, we've already spent enough money today. No more."

JJ chuckled and nodded, pulling Emily out of the car. "Haha, no. We're not done yet. Em, you haven't been back in the US for over a year. You need to go shopping! Besides, we could get shoes!" She squealed as she dragged her brunette friend through the store and to the clothing and shoe department. Emily stopped walking and looked down at her bag as her phone rang. She answered it and smiled when she read the ID, although she had no memory of this person, they were in her family.

"Hello? Dad. Hi.. Yeah, I'm fine..." she paused and turned away from JJ, not noticing the horrified look on her face. JJ swallowed and watched Emily. Her father had just came back into her life a week before Emily had left for Italy. Her father had abandoned her when she was younger. Although it was to save her, Emily wanted nothing to do with the man. He left her and her mother.

"Dad, when do I get to see you?" JJ chewed her lip and toyed with her necklace as she listened in. Finally she hung up with Christopher Prentiss and turned back to JJ. "Can we go yet?" she smiled as JJ just nodded silently and walked to the checkout line with their bags of clothing and shoes.

Emily climbed out of the car and slowly walked up the steps to Hotch's apartment with help from JJ. The two of them carried in the bags and set them down in the kitchen. Emily moaned as she saw the guest bed she had slept in the previous night and collapsed onto it. Within seconds she was out cold, while JJ went to find Hotch and talk to him about their day and the phone call.

"Oh shit. Jayje. He called her? Shit." Hotch rubbed his temple as Jack came running into the room with an amused expression.

"Daddy? What wrong?" Hotch shook his head and picked his son up in his arms. He pressed his lips to his forehead gently and then placed him down. "What does shit mean, daddy?" the boy looked up at him with bright curious eyes.

Hotch frowned and swallowed as he knelt down and sent a quick glare at the blonde woman standing next to them. "It's.. -"

JJ took a step forward and licked her lip. "Uh, its a toy for adults, Jack." Jack pouted and threw his arms up in a tantrum."

"I wanna play with a shit!" Jack whined and fell back to the ground as Hotch picked up his screaming child and glared at JJ.

"Nice one. Real smooth."

JJ sighed, trying to stifle a small chuckle. "I'm sorry! I was trying to help." She looked up at the clock and sighed. "I need to go. I have to meet Garcia. I'm really sorry." she left before Hotch could say anything.

Hours later, Emily awoke to a small weight on her legs. She grunted as she heard a tiny voice mumbling things. "Hm?" she blinked her eyes awake and stared into the dark brown eyes of Jack Hotchner. "Hello." she said groggily.

The small boy looked down at her and giggled as he forced a toy thermometer in her mouth. "Emmy! You gotta say 'ah' like this!" he opened his mouth wide and demonstrated for the brunette. Emily groaned and slowly sat up in bed as Hotch came in, hearing his son's laughter.

"Jack, buddy, I told you to let Emmy sleep" He eyed her apologetically and picked Jack up from the bed.

"But daddy! I wanted to play." He pouted again and turned to Emily. "Do you know what a shit is?" He grinned and clung to her. "Aunt Jayje said it was a toy for adults. Do you play with one?" He tilted his head to the side, just like his father did.

"Jack! I told you that that word isn't a very good word. You shouldn't say it. You could get in big trouble. It's not nice." Jack looked to his father and nodded sadly.

"I sorry, daddy. I promise I won't do it again." He watched his son run out of the room with his doctor play kit and then turned to The still groggy Emily. "Hey, you alright?" Emily smiled lazily and nodded slowly.

"I will be.. You know.. You both share the same dimpled smile, the same pout and he imitates you. It's quite funny, really." She tilted her head and looked down at he hand as his came down and touched it.

"Really? I guess like father, like son? Huh?" He grinned and took a deep breath. "Emily, I hope it's okay for you to stay here for abit.. Atleast until you remember things. Jack loves you, and well, we both don't mind you being here.." he silently added an 'and I love you' before eyeing her carefully. She nodded and brushed he thumb against his palm.

"Yeah, it's fine. I know I don't remember much, but I do love Jack. He's so sweet. And thank you. For everything."

_**A/N: Again, really sorry I didn't have this up sooner. I'm just so overwhelmed. Please leave a review? Thanks.**_

**-CriminallyCastle**


	6. Chapter 6

**Awaken **

_**A/N: Oh my God… I am a horrible person. I kind of lost inspiration and became obsessed with roleplaying, and just stopped writing during the summer and never got back into it. I am so sorry. **_

_**Thank you to all of those who continue to review/add to story alerts, regardless.  
**_**  
****Chapter six.**

Emily watched as Hotch entered the room and sat down next to her on the bed, "So," he began, "Jayje will be here soon."

"Okay," she replied, staring back at the man who sat next to her, taking in his appearance, recognizing the changes that he had undergone in the past year. He certainly wasn't as old as the man she had dreamed of, but there was a noticeable difference to his face, he looked tired, he looked withdrawn, like a little piece of him had died when Parker did. He'd told her once a very long time ago that every single time someone died a little piece of others died too, as soon as she felt she was able, she was going to have to talk to him about what had happened. But first she was going to have to sort out reality from fiction in her own mind, starting with what her dreams meant.

Hotch watched as Emily's face studied him, her left eye crinkled as if she was trying to solve an unsolvable riddle inside her head.

"Hotch," she began before she paused, did she really want to ask him this question? Would this give away what she was trying to compartmentalize? "Can I ask you something?"

Hotch nodded, as he prepared himself, he never knew what Emily was going to ask at any given time, "Sure, Em,"

She took a deep breath, before she spoke quickly, "Did anyone read me anything whilst I was sleeping?"

"Read you anything?" Hotch repeated, before he realized what she was actually asking him, he had been correct in his estimation that she had been dreaming of something, something that by his calculations must have involved him.

Emily looked at him expectantly, watched as his face turned confused, before realization seemed to dawn upon him, instantly Emily felt worried, she had gone too far, she needed to change the subject, she needed to forget what she had dreamed and by the look on his face, the sooner the better.

"Not that I know of," Hotch replied honestly, he knew he hadn't read anything to her, unless by accident he had read Derek's magazines to her. "We spoke to you though."

Emily nodded. She had done a bit of research since being in the hospital on dreams. She read that sometimes talking to a person as they slept could influence their dreams. Suddenly her head was a muddle once again. "Thank you," she managed to say back to him.

He looked at her confused, "You don't need to thank me Em, you're my partner remember," he said with a smile. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked concernedly, he wanted to ask her about what she had said when she had woken, but he didn't want to scare her, he didn't want to pressure her.

She paused before she looked back up at him with a new question in mind. "What happened before I left for Italy…?"

Hotch sucked in a breath and worked his jaw, placing a comforting hand on her leg. "Well, The team… We decided we all needed a break. Strauss gave us permission, and gave other teams our work for a bit… We-" He watched as she shook her head,

"Jayje told me all of that… I meant… What happened to me?" Emily licked her bottom lip and closed her eyes, as Hotch nodded, taking in a shaky breath.

"Oh… Well, um. Emily… Your father, Christopher Prentiss… You weren't too fond of him… You-There were files. Files from years ago… Your father abandoned you when you were little, Emily… I'm so sorry." He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Em, Christopher Prentiss… he was a bad man. Right before you left, he came back into your life, just showed up at your apartment." He shook his head and sighed, "He then tried to warm his way back into your life, but you wanted nothing to do with him…"

Emily nodded, not knowing what to say. She swallowed hard and looked up at him, "And my mother? What about her?"

He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand again, "That's where it gets bad… Emily, she was murdered three years ago. The case still goes unsolved." He watched as Emily processed this new information.

"Oh…" She said quietly and looked down, averting his dark eyes. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb against her cheek. She looked up after a few minutes and swallowed hard, "I'm tired…"

"Here," Hoch began as he rose from the bed and helped her settle back down, he slipped one pillow down behind her back and she sighed with relief.

"Thanks," the brunette said, "Did Jayje say how long she would be?" she asked, trying to stifle out a yawn.

"Only that she would be here soon," Hotch replied, as he sat back down, he could see that she was tiring. He was happy that she had stayed awake this long, especially after her previous attempt at waking up.

"It seems," Emily began, as the yawn escaped her lips, "that I am still under the influence of medication. I feel that I am falling asleep once again."

Hotch let out a small chuckle and nodded as he watched as Emily closed her eyes once more, he reached out and took her hand, shaking it softly, watching as her eyes opened lazily, "If you don't wake up for Jayje she is going to kill me," he told her with a serious tone.

Emily laughed, "If she does I'd still be able to work out how the murder was committed. She wouldn't get away with it."

Hotch pouted, "Wouldn't you prefer me alive?" he questioned hopefully.

Emily laughed again, before whispering as her eyes closed, "Of course."

Hotch smiled to himself as he watched his agent closely, "Thank you," he replied. He smiled watching her. She was beginning to look like her old self. Even if she didn't remember much.

"You're welcome." She replied with her eyes still closed.

[-]

"Sweetie, you'd better not be asleep again,"

Hotch turned as he heard the familiar voice, "Jayje, how fast did you drive?" he looked up once more at the clock on the wall, she had only taken ten minutes to get to his apartment from the BAU which was at least a twenty minute drive. He eyed the dark man at JJ's sighed and nodded a greeting. "Derek."

Jayje smiled and wrinkled her nose, "You know I'd prefer not to answer that question on the grounds that I may incriminate myself."

Hotch shook his head, "I don't want to know."

"I was eager to see my best friend."

Emily could hear new voices, she opened her eyes slightly, hoping she would recognize where she was this time, and luckily she did. "Jayje," she said happily.

"Sweetie,"  
"Em!"Jayje answered excitedly, scooping as much of the brunette as she could into her arms, squeezing tightly, "I've been so worried about you."

JJ sighed and released her, "God, Em. We will find out who did this to you." She whispered for only her ears only, "Hotch hasn't slept at all. Says he won't rest until we're sure we have everything from the case… As for me, I am in desperate need of another Jayje and Emily time," she added with a smile, beaming towards her friend.

Hotch looked at Derek and sighed, "Somehow I think we are being given the heave ho by Jayje" Hotch said with a small smile.

"Don't take it too personally, Hotch. You've had her to talk to all night, now it's my turn. We have much to discuss." Jayje told Hotch with a laugh and another wrinkle of her nose, as she flicked her hands at him, telling him to move from the door.

"I do believe that she was asleep for most of the time," Hotch added as he gave in to his agent and her hand movements and left.

"You know Hotch," Jayje said as she watched him and Derek move from the door, "You could always bring me and her something to drink..."

"I'll go and find something now," Hotch replied as he watched Jayje sit down immediately and start speaking animatedly towards Emily. He smiled as she stretched and blinked her eyes, in an attempt to appear more awake than she actually was. He excused himself from the room, joining Derek who had already made his way into the kitchen. "It seems she has plenty to say," Hotch joked as the two of them began walking to the fridge.

"She's missed Emily terribly," Derek explained, "When she got back months ago, she was constantly waiting for emails and letter. I think she wanted to make sure that Emily was actually going to come home." Hotch frowned, suddenly perplexed, "I wouldn't worry, man," Derek said quickly, noticing the older man's facial expression, "I think she was just being overly sensitive, worrying that Emily would get wound up in another case and that she'd be away for another year. I don't think Jayje would have liked that at all,"

Hotch nodded, silently agreeing. He wouldn't like it at all, either. Emily seemed to be the only one who ever understood him. He took in a deep breath and grabbed two bottles of water for the women.

He was just on his way back to the bedroom, when he was ambushed by his son.

"Daddy!" Jack hugged him tightly, but realized his father's face was sad, "Are you okay?" He poked at his cheek and eyed him with big brown eyes as Hotch held him in his arms.

Hotch looked down at his son and smiled, "I'm okay now that I'm with you."

"Is Emmy okay?" Jack asked his voice still sad, "Can I talk to her?" he questioned.

"She's fine," Hotch nodded, "You have to wait a bit, buddy. Aunt Jayje is with her at the moment."

"Auntie Jayje's here too?" The young boy questioned again, a small grin rising on his face.

Hotch nodded and ruffled Jack's hair, "Yep. Emmy's just a little tired. She just woke up not too long ago, buddy."

Derek looked up at Hotch and sighed, eyeing him, "How long ago did she wake up?"

"About an hour ago," Hotch explained, "She's still pretty tired though. I am sure she's been trying hard to keep up with Jayje's conversation," he added as he leaned against the door and watched Emily nod every few moments.

Jack listened intently as his father discussed Emily. He sighed, adults could be so boring at times. He let go of his father's hand and raced into the room, throwing himself albeit very carefully into the arms of the woman in the bed.

"Emmy! You're awake! I missed you." He said warmly, squeezing his arms around Emily tightly. "Are you okay?" he asked sincerely, "Did you get hurt cause my Daddy wasn't with you?" he added, his eyes wide with worry.

_**A/N: I'm so sorry again to have stopped writing. In all honesty, I forgot about these and just lost track of where I wanted the plot to lead and everything. I will try to continue writing. We'll see where this leads. **_

_**-CriminallyCastle.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Awaken **

_**A/N: Thank you to all of those who continue to review/add to story alerts, regardless.  
**_**  
****Chapter seven.**

The next few days had gone by slowly, dragging on for Aaron. He constantly worried about his agent in the next room. He never admit to it, but Emily knew that late at night, he paced the hallway infront of the guest room. She could hear his soft footsteps, his breathing, and hear him murmuring. It drove her to insanity and back that he didn't just come into her room. She longed to talk to him at night. She felt bad that he wasn't sleeping, and that was because of her. She wished she could remember everything clearly, but still, even as memories continued to trickle back slowly, there still was a lot missing. A large gap filled her mind as she tried to remember her past.

Hotch sat across from her as they ate breakfast one morning. He poured her a cup of coffee-her favorite, and smiled as she downed it. He watched as she began to pick at the Belgian waffles they had made together and nodded as silence filled the table. Jack had gone to Jessica's early that morning, and it was only the two agents.

Emily looked up and bit her lip, finally gaining the courage to break the silence. "I'm sorry if I'm burdening you… I don't want to take up your time.." _Or sleep._

Hotch raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "Em, what are you talking about? You know you're not a burden.. I enjoy your company, anyway. You're a friend. How could you ever be a burden?" The older man watched intently as the woman began to pick at her fingernails. A nervous tick he had seen her do many times, countless.

"I just… I know you haven't been sleeping. I hear you outside the room at night. I feel bad, and I want you to not worry about me." She looked up at him with dark eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry."

Aaron worked his jaw for a moment as he listened to her. He sighed and shook his head, placing his hand on hers to cease her picking. "Em. Trust me. You are not a burden. I worry about you because…" He stopped and looked at her, _Because I love you._ He swallowed and worked his jaw again. "Because you're an amazing friend, and you deserve to have someone watch out for you, and someone to care for you." He watched her closely, her mouth beginning to open, but then closed as there was a knock at his door. Emily got up and walked over to it, looking through the peep hole and not recognizing the man outside. She eyed Aaron from the living room and bit her lip.

Hotch walked over to her and looked outside as well. He swallowed and turned to the brunette. "Go into the bedroom. Now." Before she could protest, he led her into it and nodded, "Stay here. Lock the door. I'll take care of it." And he was gone.

He opened the front door and puffed out his chest protectively, "Christopher Prentiss. May I help you?" He glared with cold hard eyes.

The older man cleared his throat and sized Aaron up, "Step aside, son. I've been told by an Agent Derek Morgan that she was here. I have a right to see my daughter."

Emily had opened the door a crack and peeked out, just curious as to who it was. The gruff voice sounded familiar, yet she couldn't place it right away. She looked out into the living room, and tip toed to the bend in the wall where she could see them, but they couldn't see her.

"I said step aside, son. I am allowed to see her if I so please."

Aaron's glare hardened and he crossed his arms over his chest, "And what would you like to do? You abandoned her all those years ago. You left her with no family. Her mother was never around. How could you just get up and leave?" He shook his head and eyed the man darkly.

Christopher met his glare with one of his own and shook his head, "You have no idea what you're talking about." He growled, "Don't you dare point fingers at me and tell me how to raise my daughter. You weren't there. You don't know what happened."

Aaron shook his head, stepping closer as he snarled, "I know you were a murderer. You murdered people. Your name isn't even Prentiss, is it? No, it's not, and neither is Emily's. Her whole life is a lie!"

Emily swallowed as tears began to run down her cheeks._ Her own father a murderer? Her whole life was a lie?_ She wiped at the tears with the heel of her hand and ran into the bedroom to grab her jacket. She grabbed her purse and ran into the kitchen and out the back door, shutting it.

Aaron's eyes widened as he heard the door, "Shit!" He shook his head and went to grab for his keys, but found them missing. He ran to the living room, hearing the engine of his car rev up and speed away down the street. "God dammit!" He scrubbed his face with the heel of his hand and eyed the man before him, "Come on. We have to find her." He shook his head and handcuffed him, as he took the keys from his coat pocket. "You're coming."

He dialed Morgan, telling them what happened as he raced out to Christopher's car. After he hung up, he threw the phone at the dashboard and shook his head, growling in a harsh tone, "Why? Why would you do all that? Hasn't she been through enough?"

Christopher glared at him and shook his head, "I was protecting her!" The man roared and rolled his eyes, "You _really _want to know what happened?" He snarled, "I did this to protect my family. I have regrets. I worked as a career criminal." He shook his head, "Her mother, too. Violent bank robbers came after us. It was for her protection. I found new identities and changed my family's names in order to protect them. As Christopher Prentiss, I worked as a science teacher, while my wife became a politician. At Christmas in 1978, I left for the safety of my daughter and never returned to the home in order to keep her alive. Her mother moved her around a lot to help lose them, as well as for the job."

Aaron worked his jaw and stopped the car as he turned to the older man, "She was five!" He growled and shook his head, trying to calm himself. "If this is all true… Then what was her name? Hell, what is your real name?" He eyed him with a dark glare. His unit chief glare.

[x]

She had no idea where she was going. She just needed to get out of that house. She felt like she was suffocating. That each breath of air was only choking her more and more, restricting her air supply. She sucked in a sob and looked down at the dashboard. She knew that she really shouldn't have run away, and especially shouldn't have stolen Aaron's car, but there was no other way. She just needed to get away. She looked down at her phone as she heard it beep and vibrate repeatedly. By now he probably had the whole team searching for her.

Her father's words ran through her head. She couldn't remember being anything else than Emily. Parts of her life with Doyle came up then and again, but Hotch had explained everything to her. She didn't even remember her father and could only remember small insignificant details of her mother. The brunette swallowed hard and drove to the other side of town. She stopped the car and got out, realizing where she was. Jessica's, Hotch's sister-in-law. She stepped up onto the porch, and brought her fist up to the door, hesitating briefly before knocking.

Within a minute, the door opened and she was met by the wide eyes of the blonde woman, "Emily… Are you alright? Have you been crying?" She took in her appearance and looked around for her brother-in-law. "Did you drive here yourself?" She watched Emily and sighed softly, helping her move inside. She helped her sit down on the couch, and handed her a cup of coffee.

The brunette sat motionless for a few minutes before speaking, "I.. I found out some information…" She swallowed hard and sipped the coffee, as Jessica sat across from her on the chair. "I don't know who I am anymore. My father came- he found me. He um… I heard them talking. Aaron- he said that my whole life was a lie, that my name isn't Emily, and that my father isn't really who I thought he is. That he's a-a murderer." She whispered softly, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

Jessica listened and placed her hand over the brunette's for comfort. "Em… I don't understand.." She watched as Emily nodded and inhaled deeply, "Is Aaron looking for you now?" Emily nodded again. Jessica nodded and hugged her awkwardly. "It'll be okay. Shh, Emily, it'll be alright." She rubbed her back and saw Jack peek around the corner. Jack came running into the room when he realized that his favorite person was here.

He squealed and jumped onto the couch, wrapping his arms around Emily. "Emmy! Why you crying?" He wiped at one of her tears and hugged her tighter, giving her comfort while Jessica went into the kitchen to call Aaron. She sighed as she heard the busy signal and tried again after a few minutes.

[x]

"My wife and my real name is Castiel and Joy Beckett. And Emily's real name…" Christopher swallowed, "Is Lorelai Beckett."

Hotch swallowed hard and eyed him for a minute before starting the car again and calling Garcia. "Garcia. Track my license plate, and the GPS in Emily's phone."

He hung up before Garcia could respond. She sighed softly and began to enter in the numbers and plates. "On it, sir." She mumbled.

The male agent grit his jaw, "You don't think that the men you worked with-that they were the ones who took her in Italy, do you?" He ran a hand through his hair and eyed the man carefully. Hotch uncuffed him and sighed.

"I can't be sure. But I wouldn't rule it out. Where are the files?" He glanced down as they were handed to him. "I recognize this name… I'm fairly certain that these two were part of the group." He worked his jaw. "They hurt my daughter." He roared and shook his head.

Before Hotch could reply, his phone beeped. He answered it and inhaled, sighing when he read the caller I.D, "Jess, I need to keep this line available-"

"Aaron. She's here. Jack's with her. She's shaken up. What the hell happened?"

"I'll be right there." He swallowed and hung up, driving to his sister-in-law's house. He pressed down on the gas hard, speeding through the lights ahead. He had found her. He glanced at Christopher from the corner of his eye, and felt his gaze on him. "She's at my sister-in-laws."

The man didn't take his eyes off of the younger male. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Sister-in-law? So you're married… But not to my Emily." He shrugged once more, "You.. Are you-uh, Are you sleeping with my daughter?"

Aaron shook his head and swallowed, "Ex. And No, sir."

"Why, are you gay?" He tilted his head and eyed him.

Aaron chuckled and shook his head, "No."

"Is my daughter not attractive enough for you?"

Aaron stopped the car in Jessica's driveway and turned to the older man. "Emily is beautiful."

Christopher shook his head, "Then why aren't you sleeping with her? Is it because of her baggage? Too much to handle?"

"All right, just cut it out, Chris. I'll talk to her, probably won't do any good, but I'll talk to her."

Christopher nodded and for the first time, he smiled slightly. "You're a good man, Hotchner. And I want that for her."

_**A/N: So, I'm really starting to enjoy this again… Will work on updating soon. I'm trapped in from the snowstorm, anyways, so… Perhaps another chapter soon. Stay with me guys. Thoughts?**_

_**-CriminallyCastle.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Awaken **

_**A/N: A little hesitant to continue on with this story, as my last update only brought in one or two reviews, which is… kind of upsetting. Anyways, please remember to review, PLEASE. It makes such a difference. First, it makes for a happier writer, leading to a better story for y'all to enjoy. **_

_**Especially big thanks to my BETA, Babygurl0506. Without her, I don't know what this chapter would be.**_

_**That being said, without further ado, I give you;**_

**Chapter Eight**

As soon as a knock sounded on the wooden door, Jessica walked swiftly to it and opened it, letting Aaron in. Her eyes caught the man beside her brother-in-law, and she opened her mouth to speak, but shut it as Aaron explained, "This is her father. Jess, is she still here?" She looked at him again, and examined him, glancing down at the file in his hand.

The blonde nodded and motioned towards the couch, which held the now sleeping brunette, and the snoring little boy curled up at her side with his head sprawled across her chest. Aaron stifled an 'Aw' and smiled slowly, until he remembered that what he was going to tell her could hurt her again. He didn't want her to run, nor did he want to leave her side, ever. He inhaled softly and nodded as he walked closer and lifted his son off of her gently. "Hey, Bud. Time to wake up." He smiled sadly, a sense of pride hitting him in the chest. His son was just as much in love with the brunette as he was.

Jack stirred and opened one eye, "Daddy?" Aaron nodded and kissed his forehead, bringing him closer to his chest. Jack shut his eye again and moaned softly, "Don't wanna. Want Emmy." He blindly reached for the sleeping woman, eliciting a soft laugh from Aaron.

"Emmy's right here. She needs to wake up too. I need to talk to her, is that okay, buddy?" He watched as Jack nodded slowly and finally opened his eyes sleepily. He glanced at Jessica behind Aaron and then at the man by her side.

"Daddy?" He hid his face from the new stranger in his father's neck and whimpered softly.

"Jack, bud, this is Emmy's father. It's okay. He won't hurt you." He nodded, and Jack's head popped up again as he examined the man, "Emmy's daddy?" He watched the older man chuckle softly and nodded.

"Ah, you must be the famous Jack your daddy has boasted about." He winked and walked a bit closer. "Do you like lollypops?" Jack grinned and nodded vigorously as he handed him one.

Aaron smiled and set Jack onto the ground, letting him wander to Jessica. He nodded, silently asking her if she could entertain Jack while they talked with Emily. She responded with a short nod, smiled and took Jack's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Emmy-daddy!" Jack grinned and waved as they walked out of the room.

Aaron sat at the edge of the couch and slowly touched Emily's shoulder, "Em? You have to wake up now," He resisted the urge to call her 'Sweetie' and sighed as she slowly blinked awake and sat up. Her father watched the scene before him and smiled sadly. He was perfect for his daughter. Sweet and gentle. He shook his head, unable to believe that they weren't in a relationship of any kind. He smiled full of pride. His daughter had grown to be a beautiful and very strong independent and wise woman. Everything he had wanted for her.

"Hotch?" Her drowsy voice broke Christopher's thoughts and he watched as she looked from the younger agent, to him. "Why did you bring him here?" She glared. For a moment, Christopher swear he could see a flash of panic in her eyes, like a doe caught in a headlight. But as quick as it had appeared, it was gone.

"Emily. It's okay. Listen to me, please." He met her eyes and swallowed, "Emily, We need to talk to you. I'm sorry that you overheard everything earlier, but there is a reason for what your father did. Just hear him out. Hear me out, at least." His eyes pleaded as he placed a hand on her knee. "Em, please?"

She drawled in a sigh and bit her bottom lip as she looked from her father to Aaron. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "Alright, fine. Let's hear it." She waited, listening to the silence for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

The man just stood there, speechless for a moment. He swallowed and kneeled down infront of her. "You turned into such a beautiful woman." He shook his head, and smiled sadly. "Emily… I understand that you may hate me. And I'm sorry. I know I've hurt you in the past. But there were reasons." He paused and nodded once, choosing his words wisely. "I had to keep you safe. My only child. My daughter." He looked into her brown eyes and blinked. "You know by now, that your real name is not Emily…" She nodded slowly and bit her lip as he continued. "It's not. Honey. When you were young… Your mother and I-We ran into a bit of trouble with career criminals."

Emily's eyes narrowed as she looked from Hotch to her father, "What do you mean?" Her voice sounded frail, weak, and a part of her was scared. Her whole life was a lie. Was she ready to accept that? To accept that she wasn't really who she thought she was? Who she worked so hard to be? She swallowed hard, and nodded for him to continue as she felt something grasp her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. She glanced down at the hand and gave a faint smile as she realized it belonged to none other than Aaron Hotchner. Aaron. He was always there. Ready to help her through anything.

Christopher nodded and sighed. "Emily, you must understand… In order to protect my family, I had to change your identities." He took in a small breath and continued, "We moved around a lot because of your mother's job-"

Emily sighed and rubbed her temple, "I know that."

He shook his head, "Please let me finish, Emily." He closed his eyes briefly and then looked to Aaron, watching as he nodded. "Em, the other reason for that was because people were after us. The criminals whom we worked with, they turned on us when life turned right side up for us. They came after us, after your mother and you." He shook his head.

Emily raised an eyebrow and swallowed hard, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "If this is true… What is my real name?" She eyed him darkly and shook her head, growling, "What is my real name?!"

A beat of silence passed as her father stood up and looked down at her. Aaron swallowed and brushed his thumb against her palm, "Em… It's in the file." He showed her the file in his hand and she shook her head, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"No, no! I want _him_ to tell me. If he's telling the truth, he should tell me." She swallowed hard and shook her head, her voice beginning to rise.

Christopher sighed and looked to Aaron and then at his daughter. "Emily, honey… I'm sorry." He took in a deep breath and scrubbed his hand down his face, "Your real name… is Lorelai Beckett." She gasped softly and shook her head, standing up but stopped as Aaron grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He eyed her and shook his head as he tucked her into his side to comfort her, slowly, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. "Your mother's name is Joy Beckett… and my name is," He swallowed, "My name is Castiel Beckett."

The brunette sobbed softly into Aaron's chest and he hugged her tighter, trying to calm her. "Emily…" He rubbed her back, and glanced at Christopher as he slowly placed his number down on the coffee table and backed out of the house. Aaron nodded and sighed softly.

"Em… Shh. Come here. I know you don't want to talk. It's okay. But just when you're ready… Let me in. I'm here for you." He laid a gentle kiss to her hair and sighed softly. He hated seeing her broken and upset. Hated seeing her like this, confused and scared. He sat her down on the couch, and sat right by her side. It felt like hours that they had been together, her in his arms, as he rested his cheek to her hair. He let her cry herself to sleep, and sighed softly, tucking a tendril of her dark hair behind her ear as his own eyes began to droop from lack of sleep.

Within an hour, Jessica had somehow persuaded everyone to stay for dinner. Emily and Jessica shared the kitchen, cooking for the males. Jessica was trying hard to get the brunette to talk, and sighed when she just maneuvered around the kitchen. She wanted to help her in any way possible, and finally, she sat down on the counter, facing her. "Emily…" She placed her finger underneath her jaw and forced her to look up. "Come on, talk to me."

Her dark eyes met Jessica's blue ones and she bit her bottom lip as she shrugged. "What's there really to talk about?" She watched the blonde raise an eyebrow and Emily sighed. "I'll be fine. I just need time." She was already trying hard to compartmentalize the day's events, already forcing them into small boxes inside her head. That was how she was raised, the only thing she knew.

"Em.. You can't keep this up. If you don't want to talk to me, at least talk to someone. Jayje? Hell, even Aaron is here for you. He wants you to talk to him. Emily, he cares about you." She shook her head and placed a bowl of salad on the table. "Go get Jack and Aaron and tell them dinner is ready. Emily did as was told, the blonde woman's words ringing through her mind. She sighed softly and all three adults were silent throughout dinner, leaving Jack to supply most of the chatter.

[X]

"I think I'm just going to go to sleep." She stifled a yawn as they walked into Aaron's apartment. He nodded slowly and watched her walk down the hall and into the guest room, closing the door behind her.

"Good night, Em." He flashed her a sad smile and nodded before disappearing into his own room. After a lot of convincing from Jack and Jessica, he finally decided to let his son stay the rest of the week at his aunt's. He'd bring him a pair of clothes and other necessities tomorrow morning. He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it into his hamper. Slowly, he slipped off his pants and threw those as well. Aaron pulled the covers down from his bed and slipped underneath them in only his boxers. He closed his eyes and laid on his back, unable to fall asleep.

A few hours later Aaron jumped out of his bed hearing screams coming from the guest bedroom. He grabbed his gun, just in case and kicked open the locked door as he ran into the room, flickering the light on. "Em!" He glanced around the room worried, and paused when he caught her flashing about in the bed. He lowered the weapon, laying it on the night stand and walked over to her. A night mare. She sat at the edge of the bed, and gently reached out to touch her shoulder. He watched her for a few moments, debating on whether or not waking her would be wise. He sucked in a breath and finally shook her gently. "Emily. Em, wake up. Shh. It's okay." He glanced at her sweaty forehead and brushed his fingers through her hair. "I'm here, Shh. I'm here." She finally awoke with a whimper, and he held her to his chest, her hands wrapping around him slowly as tears began to prick her eyes. "It's okay. I've got you." He rubbed her back and looked down at her. How had he been so lucky to have this beautiful creature in his arms like this? He brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes and laid his lips to her forehead.

Emily clung to him like a life line. She shook and shivered as he held her close. Her head was now against his chest and she listened to the beating of his heart, letting it soothe her. It comforted her to know that he was alive, alive and real. She had seen him getting killed in her night mare, and there was nothing she could do to safe him. She looked up at him and blinked as he brushed the tears away with his thumb. She cleared her throat and sat up, nodding slowly. She brushed the remainder of the tears away and swallowed hard as she met his eyes. Her fingers began to pick at the loose strings on the comforter. She worked her jaw and thought her words through before speaking softly.

"I think I'm ready to talk now…"

_**A/N: Well, I haven't had school in what feels like forever because of this snowstorm, but looks like I am going back tomorrow, finally. (Thank God). **_

_**Anyways, please let me know what you think in a review.**_

_**-CriminallyCastle.**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Awaken**

_**A/N: Yay! Last chapter brought in quite a few reviews. It really does make quite the difference. First, it makes for a happier writer, leading to a better story for y'all to enjoy. This chapter is mostly just fluff, as last chapter had a huge reveal.**_

_**Same disclaimer as in chapter one.**_

_**That being said, without further ado, I give you;**_

**Chapter Nine**

"I think I'm ready to talk now…"

Aaron's breath caught in his throat as he glanced down at the brunette in his arms. He gently pressed his lips to her hair in a ghost of a kiss and nodded slowly, waiting for her to speak.

Emily inhaled slowly and began to move away from him, sitting across from him instead. She nodded once and licked her lip, shrugging. "What am I supposed to do?"

If there was ever a moment where his heart broke, it was now. He ached for her, his chest hurt for her. It was just one horrible event after the other. Starting with Doyle, then it was the process of healing from her new injuries in Italy, and now it was not knowing who she was. His agent had it bad, and he was desperate to help her in any way possible. He loved her. He took in a deep nasally breath and exhaled, working his jaw in the process. "Honestly… I don't really know, Emily." He moved a bit closer and rested his chin on top of her hair, pulling her into his chest. It took the brunette a few moments to bring her arms around him. "-But, know this; You will always be Emily Prentiss to me. The best, and strongest agent on my team." He smiled and nudged her gently with his nose. "Do me a favor, and remember this,You're never alone. Whether you need me or not, I will be here for you. Always." He nodded, rocking her slowly in his arms as he repeated her words from so long ago. He felt a tear trickle down his arm and began to rub her back as well. "Shh. It'll be okay."

She didn't know how long they sat like that for. It could've been for minutes, or for hours. However long the time was, she was unsure. After awhile though, she had fallen asleep in his arms. Aaron lay awake by her side, his arms wrapping around her protectively. He longed for this to be real, to wake up with her in his arms every morning, to make breakfast together in the kitchen, and to play with Jack after work hours and on the weekends. There was nothing more he could want, and he was sure of it. He tugged her closer as she slept soundlessly, and watched her. She looked beautiful. He just needed to make her believe it, to make her feel it. He closed his eyes after awhile and began to drift off to a light slumber as well.

The next morning, he had awaken to the overpowering aroma of bacon and coffee. He inhaled the scent hungrily and grinned, slipping his feet into slippers, and putting a bathrobe over his T-shirt and boxers. He maneuvered down the steps easily and watched from the corner as she moved throughout his kitchen, humming. Dimples began to indent his cheeks as he watched the brunette. She seemed so domestic and calm, it all felt so right. He watched for a few moments, trying to stay quiet as her back was to him.

Sensing a presence, she smiled to herself and stopped humming. Without turning around, and grabbing the carton of milk from his fridge, she smirked, "Gonna stand there all day, Hotch?"

Aaron grinned slowly and walked over to her side. He looked down on her with warm eyes and laughed softly. "You're happy today… How are you feeling?" He liked the drastic change in her attitude from last night.

She nodded and smiled sheepishly, making his heart flutter, "Yeah… Um, I remembered something last night" His grin widened and he rubbed her back gently as he nodded his approval. At this point, memories had been slowly making their way back to Emily. It had taken weeks, but she was slowly returning.

"That's great, Em! What'd you remember?"

She placed the milk carton on the counter top and turned back to him. "I remember the time when we all went to Dave's house and cooked dinner." She shrugged and smiled widely, a dimple indenting her cheek. "It's not much-"

Aaron shook his head and grinned, "No, Em, that's great!" Her smile had faltered slightly as she was about to continue, but he moved away, "After breakfast, I need to drop things off at Jess' for Jack. You okay staying here or do you want to come?" He searched her face for anything and watched her shrug.

"I'll stay." Aaron nodded and gently touched her back briefly before walking around her to help finish the breakfast.

[x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x][x]

Emily was laying on the couch, the TV on low and the phone in her hand as she waited for Aaron to return. The brunette sighed and curled a piece of hair around her finger as she spoke softly, "I don't know, Jayje… Last night I was a mess, and he was there. He's always just there." Her lips had arched up in a smile as she thought about him.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" JJ sat in Garcia's lair with the other blonde. "Oh, hold on, Garcia wants to talk to you."

There was a slight shuffle of the phone, and then a squeal. "Gumdrop! Tell us more, please?! What's it like staying in his apartment? Have you seen him naked yet?"

Emily laughed softly and ran a hand through her hair. "No, Garcia. I have not, and probably will not. And I don't know… I kind of like it. He's… sweet. Although, I do miss the BAU." She paused, the line going silent for a few moments. "Can you put me on speaker?"

"Sure thing, gumdrop!" She pressed the button and waited, "Alright, you're golden. Shoot."

Emily nodded and inhaled softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This morning when I woke up, I… I remembered something. Well, two things. I remember the dinner at Rossi's before we all disbanded for the year…"

She waited in silence. After she didn't continue, JJ and Garcia both prompted her, "Well? What was the other thing…?" Her voice was almost silent as she continued.

"…I think I'm falling in love with Hotch."

The squeals that followed echoed through the phone. "Oh, Gumdrop!" Garcia clapped her hands together, "I'm so happy for you! Have you told him?! Please tell me you did!"

"Actually… I haven't. I just don't know how. With everything going on, and… I don't know. Why would he even want me? I mean, what guy would even want someone who doesn't even know who she is? I'm broken. He doesn't want that." She shook her head and sighed, closing her eyes.

"No! Emily, don't you DARE tell yourself that! You are amazing and beautiful, and intelligent, and any guy would be lucky to have you!"

Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, thanks. But I think I'm going to wait at least…"

"Careful, Gumdrop. If you wait too long, he could already be taken-"

She swallowed and sat up as she heard the keys jingling in the lock. "I-Um, have to go… He's here. I'll talk to you both soon." She hung up and turned the TV off right as he walked into the apartment.

"Hey, anything good on at the moment?" He walked over to the living room and sat down next to her. He placed his hand on her knee and turned to her, flashing her a charming smile. He watched her shake her head and he studied her, making her heart flutter. "How do you feel, Em?"

"I feel fine." She shrugged, her heart beginning to beat faster.

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "I don't believe that."

"Well, believe what you might, but I'm fine."

He shrugged, leaning in a bit closer, "Fine isn't a feeling, _Emily."_

Emily gulped at the way her name came off of his lips. She sat across from him, her eyes on his as she was silent for a moment. Her lips were pursed but she didn't speak. Instead she studied him. "Yes it is, People can say they're fine." She leaned in a bit closer and watched as he smirked, shaking his head.

"Sure, you could say that- If you want to." Emily smirked at his response and he leaned a bit closer. His eyes began to flutter closed as they breathed eachother's air. "You can't imagine how much I want to kiss you right now…" His voice was soft and caring, lusting for her.

Emily's lips parted and she swallowed, shrugging ever so slightly, "Do I..Have to imagine?" Hotch smiled widely and slowly leaned in further, closing the gap between them. He pressed his lips to hers and grinned. It was a soft kiss, one that showed how much he cared for her.

The kiss was short but yet it felt like they could do it all day. Aaron was the first to pull back and he looked at her with dark eyes, dark sad eyes. "No, Em… We can't." He inhaled and shook his head, his heart breaking. He couldn't take advantage of his subordinate. It wouldn't be right. And plus, it was against the rules. He caressed her jaw at seeing her face fall. "I'm sorry, but we can't. I'm your boss and-"

"Don't." She shook her head and placed her finger to his lips as she looked up at him with dark eyes. "Don't say it." She glanced away from him, beginning to blush and already try and compartmentalize. He slid onto his knees and kneeled before her on the ground. He took her hands in his and looked at her.

"Emily, sweetheart, we can't do this… Not now. I can't take advantage of you. I _won't _take advantage of you." He looked up, catching her eyes with his and sighed softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of her lips. He brushed his thumb along her cheek and shook his head. "Not yet."

Emily's heart fell. She glanced down and released a painful breath. "Hotch-"

"Em." He closed his eyes and shook his head. He swallowed hard and rested his forehead to hers. "We really shouldn't, but I think I'm falling in love with you..."

Her breath caught in her chest and her blood ran cold. Goosebumps traveled up her arms as her eyes widened. She stuttered, trying to think of something to say, anything to say. She needed to say the words to him but didn't know how.

_**A/N: Yay! An update!**_

_**Remember to let me know what you think in a review.**_

_**-CriminallyCastle.**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Awaken**

_**A/N: Well, it's been almost two months since an update. I am a terrible author. I apologize for making y'all wait. I really need to finish this story.. **_

_**Same disclaimer as in chapter one.**_

_**That being said, without further ado, I give you;**_

**Chapter Ten**

Emily's heart pounded in her ears, her breath hitched and she just sat, staring at him blankly. His voice was the only thing that pulled her from her reverie, "Okay… Um, I hadn't really expected this reaction.. Now rejection, yes, that was what I was prepared for.." Hotch shook his head and sighed, working his jaw.

The one time he let his gut speak for him, it screws him over. This was the main reason he always spoke with his brain and thought everything through.

Now blinking before him, the brunette gasped softly and squeezed his hand tightly. "Aaron… You can't just expect a woman to be unsurprised when out of the blue you tell her you love her." To his relief, the corners of her lips began to arch in a genuine smile, her dimples beginning to indent her cheeks. "I love you, too." She nestled her head into his neck as he pulled her closer and smiled, a full smile tugged at his lips as he rubbed her back gently.

"Emily, I think I always have.. I just-I didn't know it at the time." He sighed softly as she craned her head up and captured his lips with hers.

"I know." She smiled and moaned softly into the kiss, molding against his body.

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A few days had flown by, leaving Emily in Aaron's care as he continued helping her look for clues as she continuously regained bits and pieces of her memory, her past, her life.

"Aaron, where are we going?" She glanced at him across the car, sighing as his eyes avoided hers purposely. He had been ignoring her for the last fifteen minutes, and now it was starting to get rather irking. Emily groaned as he shook his head. She reached over and flicked his ear.

"Ow! Emily, did you just _flick_ me?" He finally turned his head to meet her amused gaze and rolled his eyes. "You are so immature sometimes." He let out a soft laugh as she pouted, "Oh, come on. How old are you, six?"

Emily choked on her laughter as she stared at the man. "Five." She crossed her arms and smirked, "Actually, I'm five."

When he stopped laughing, Aaron twisted in his seat and eyed her. "Oh, is that why you're so good with my son? Because you're really his age?" He brushed his lips against hers as he stopped at a light. "Emily, I can't tell you where we're going."

She pouted again as his lips left hers and they continued on to their destination. "But Aaron…"

"No, Em, I will not tell you anything." He turned back to the road.

Within five more minutes, Aaron had pulled into a large driveway. Emily eyed him questioningly and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Um, care to explain the fancy place?"

Aaron shook his head as he placed a hand on her lower back and led her inside the place with a key. He held the door for her and let her enter. Immediately to their right was a grand staircase, as a twin staircase on their left as well. Emily's eyes traced over the marble flooring and the detailed walls.

She heard voices traveling down the hallway and then they stopped after a moment. The sound of heavy footsteps carried closer and she gasped softly, her eyes falling on the man as he stepped into the light. She turned to Aaron and glared, her heart beating rapidly. She slapped at Aaron's shoulder and shook her head, "How could you bring me here!" She looked at the man across from them and caught the way his thin smile quickly turned into an expression of extreme sadness. "I don't want to see you." She turned on her heel, but Aaron was faster. By the time she was close to the door, he had her hand in her grasp.

She turned to look at him, "Aaron, leave me alone. This man is a liar, I don't want to see him or talk to him and now you're going behind my back to-to arrange a "get together"?!" She shook her head and bit her lip as Aaron sighed softly.

"Emily, listen to him. Give him a chance. He's your father, and despite what you think, he has a lot to tell you." The woman groaned lowly as Aaron released her hand slowly. His eyes glanced down at Christopher Prentiss, Emily's CIA father and he nodded. "I'll give you two some space." He cupped Emily's cheek as he looked into her confused, dark eyes. "I'm sorry I brought you here, but you two need to talk. And you said you were ready."

She shook her head and dropped her eyes, "Yeah, ready to talk to _you_." She frowned as he caressed her jaw and dropped a chaste kiss to her lips, "Don't leave me." She whispered and he nodded.

"Always." He glanced around the room and sighed, "I'll be in the kitchen. Talk with him, Em. Give him a chance. I'll be right here."

She watched as he dropped his hands from her face and walked out of the room, his gaze lingering on Christopher.

"So, are you two dating?"

Christopher's words pulled her from her thoughts as he spoke. She turned to glare at him with her dark eyes and crossed her arms. "And what business of yours is it?"

He raised an eyebrow and backed up, putting his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Jeez. Agent Hotchner wasn't lying when he said you were touchy."

Emily gawked and stuttered, "I am not touchy." She looked at the man and sighed, "Fine, whatever. "Just get on with what you wanted to tell me." She rolled her eyes as she sat down on the leather sofa.

"Emily, I know you're upset. I can understand how you'd feel. I'd probably feel the same. But kids make their parents into Gods and we can't do anything but disappoint you." He paused, sighing, "I am no God, Emily. I am just a person, like everybody else. I make mistakes, big ones; clearly, that I should have handled differently. And there's nothing I can say to make you forgive me." He inhaled softly and shook her head, "But I sure as hell am going to forgive myself, because I have a little time left. And I am entitled to try and be happy, even if it's just for a little bit. You're my daughter. I want you to be safe."

He gestured with his hands and shook his head as he spoke, "And it took a lot of courage to come back to you," He quietly broke off before continuing. He inhaled deeply, taking in a shaky breath, "Cause I-I wanted you to taste a little bit of the happiness that I've had because it seems that all I've ever done is bring you misery. That's what I couldn't face… All the things I did to you. But I wish I could do it differently. But I can't turn back the clock. And apparently neither can you…" He paused before he nodded, "I'm sorry Emily."

Emily listened to him as she stared at the marbled floor. She sucked in a shaky breath and shook her head. "You were never there… My own mother was never there. Where were you for my high school graduation, college graduation, even when I turned sixteen? I didn't get to have a party of my own. Instead I had to spend hours at my mother's gala with people trying to marry me off. I just wanted to be ordinary."

Christopher shook his head as he dug through his wallet. "Emily… I was always there. Always." He pulled out a string of photos and glanced at them quickly before handing them to her. He slowly moved to her side and held them out for her to see. "Look, this was your tenth birthday. This was when you accepted that award in your freshmen year of high school for that science fair," He pointed to a picture of a young Emily on stage with a certificate. "And here-" He showed her a picture of a brunette in a cap and gown. "This was your high school graduation." He paused to look at the photo, his own eyes becoming a bit blurry. He was proud of his daughter, always had been. "You see, Emily, I was there. All along, I was there. I just didn't want you to know. I couldn't."

Emily sucked in a breath and slowly eyed him with puffy eyes. "But why? Couldn't you have told me?"

She handed him the photos back after pausing on a picture of her joining the CIA. "I couldn't, no. You see, Emily. The men after me, after you and your mother…" He shook his head sadly. "They would have found you and your new identity. They would've taken you away from me and your mother."

"-But they did, didn't they? They're the group who murdered my mother, aren't they?"

She waited for him to confirm her theory. Her heart sank as he nodded slowly. "Yes. They did. And they would've gotten you too if you hadn't gone to college that year." Emily closed her eyes and nodded.

"I remember. I got the call late at night.. That-that she was found in an alley." She sucked in a heavy breath and nodded, "That's why I became what I am. I never got answers, and I still don't have answers. I thought that if I became an agent, I'd help other families by knowing what happened to their loved ones."

Her father listened with sadness and nodded, placing his hand on her knee. "I'm sorry, Emily." He felt her tense up as his hand touched her knee, quickly, he pulled it back. She was a Prentiss. She didn't like to be touched much. Just like her mother had been. "

"The men who took you in Italy… They were the same men. They found you." He looked up at her with sad eyes. "I think it'd be best if you went into-"

"No." Emily surprised herself at the firmness in her voice. "No, I am not going into witness protection. I'm FBI, ex-CIA. I can handle myself; I don't need protection."

He shook his head and sighed, "Emily, listen to me. You're not safe anymore. They've been alive longer than you. They know what they're doing. I also suspect they know where you live now." She sighed softly and looked up as Aaron entered the room.

"I'm sorry for over-hearing that last part, but.. I can always protect her and keep her safe. I worked security for her mother years ago. I was practically babysitting Emily when she was in high school. There were death threats to her and her mother, and no one came near her when I was around." He shrugged and glanced from Emily to Christopher.

Christopher worked his jaw as he stared at the two younger agents. He nodded slowly and sighed, "…I suppose, but Agent Hotchner, I trust you to keep her safe. If that doesn't happen…" He shook his head and glared hard, letting him know he was serious.

Aaron didn't back down. He stood his ground and nodded, "Sir, I know Emily. I know how to keep her safe. I've been doing this job for years."

"Very well then." He stood up and looked at Aaron, "Care to stay for dinner? April is making dinner right now."

"April?" Emily eyed him and frowned.

"Relax. She's just the help. She makes the best steak." His mouth practically salivated as he led them to the kitchen.

Dinner was quiet, filled with only a little bit of conversation, mostly supplied by Aaron and Christopher as Emily ate in silence throughout the whole meal.

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"Then it's settled. Emily, you will be staying in Aaron's apartment for the next few months while I try to figure this out and hunt these guys down." Christopher stated after the meal.

Emily blushed slightly and glanced at Aaron nervously as she picked at her nails. "Relax, Em. Jack loves you. He'll be happy to have you around often." Aaron smiled and nudged her gently, "Besides. When Jack's at Jess' the apartment tends to get a little lonely." He shrugged as a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, causing her own smile to break out. She nodded and bit her lip.

"Alright…" She inhaled steadily and nodded as they got ready to leave the large building.

Aaron hadn't even realized that they had been followed to her apartment as they gathered the rest of her belongings. A good portion of her things was already located at his apartment from when he had nursed her back to health from her wrist and stayed with her during the nightmares.

As he locked her apartment back up and guided her to the car, he frowned, dropping his hand from her. She paused with him, sensing the same. "Aaron?"

He shook his head and worked his jaw, turning his head this way and that. "Come on." The hair on the back of their neck stood straight as he got her into the car. "Let's get out of here, shall we?" He started the car and drove down the block and into town, making a bunch of turns in case anyone was indeed following them. Something had felt off at her apartment, and it was not the fact that her apartment hadn't been lived in for a few weeks. Aaron made an illegal U-turn and then a few minutes later, a large K-turn as he maneuvered to his own apartment, hoping that nobody had managed to follow them.

He helped her with the rest of her bags from the car and led her up the steps, "Alright. I think we're good. Let's go." He nodded as he opened his apartment door and took her hand, setting her bags down in the room. The feeling that he had in her apartment hadn't faded yet. He still could feel the tension in the air, in his own body, and in Emily's as well. They both had sensed something off, and it seemed to stick with them.

_**A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger. We'll get there. I promise!**_

_**Remember to let me know what you think in a review.**_

_**-CriminallyCastle.**_


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